Reviews (76)

Spy Kids 2, better that the 1st
As a teenager I usually don't have a thing for movies like this but I definetly liked this one. I ended up taking my little sister to see it but I ended up liking it more than her. Yes, some parts are cheesy (like when the little spy boy ballet dances with the presidents daughter), but there aren't that many moments like that. They also have 2 new characters. Gerti (who is played by Haley Joel Osments sister) is a cool gal and her brother Gary (Matt O'Leary) is gorgeous! I think that's why I liked the movie so much. He's a great actor and a major hottie! The movie itself is WAY better that the first too. The islands got some cool animals too, the "catfish" is cute but i found the "spider monkey" a little disturbing looking. If that thing was my pet I'd be a little scared! I don't want to give the movie away but DEFINETLY WATCH IT!

We¿ve Got A Franchise!!
"Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams" is another in a line of great sequels to great movies. Overall, if you enjoyed the first film you'll be very pleased in the next installment in this "Bond for Kids" comedy/adventure series!!

THE STORY:

Carmen and Juni Cortez (Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara) are back in a bigger and wilder adventure than before. This time the Cortez siblings are locked in a dead heat to get to the bottom of a mystery concealed by a remote and mysterious island before a rival team of Spy Kids beat them to the punch.

THE COOL THINGS:

The "Island of Lost Dreams" expands upon the Spy Kids world tenfold as we are introduced to the entire Spy Kids organization including its hierarchies and ultra-cool weapons. The "monsters" in this installment are also more formidable looking (mutated/spliced animals) as compared to the comical mutated humans from the first movie. We also get introduced to the extended Cortez family tree as Ingrid's parents gain a supporting role. In all, seeing the competing Spy Kids and the newer and cooler weapons made this movie more enjoyable.

BEST SCENES:

1. The Monster Duel

2. Popstars Carmen and Juni!!! (HILARIOUS!!!)

3. Battle at OSS

THE VERDICT:

Spy Kids was generally regarded as a good, solid movie not only for kids and families, but anyone in general. It was fun, entertaining and all around enjoyable. Summed in a nutshell, Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams is even better!!!

Highly Recommended

A PRETTY GOOD MOVIE!
IT WAS PRETTY GOOD!I LIKED THE FIRST ONE BETTER,BUT THIS ONE WAS REAL COOL TOO!THE ACTORS ARE REAL GOOD WHEN THE`RE PLAYING AS THESE PEOPLE!

Great Movie
I enjoyed Spy Kids 2 a lot. I have Spy Kids and it was alright. I watched 3-D in theatres and thought it was crappy. Today I watched Spy Kids 2 and I loved it it's a funny movie full of action. I highly recommend it.

Better than the original but much less like 007
Spy Kids was a lot like James Bond, only for kids. Sure, the gadgets were a little wacky, as was the plot, and the lines weren't super (they should have included some double entendres, that would have been a laugh), but it was good. This, however, shows the franchise is veering into fantasy. And from what I hear about Spy Kids 3D: Game Over, the James Bond similarity seems to be over. If you want James Bond, see Agent Cody Banks, XXX, or the real thing, Die Another Day.
Kids, however, will not make a Venn diagram between Bond and Spy Kids, primarily because they've never watched 007 ask for a vodka martini, shaken not stirred. This movie is heavy on stars ( Antonio Banderas, Ricardo Montalban) but it never feels like, say, Hook.
Two spies have no choice but to let their children, Carmen and Juni, become junior agents. The movie starts out, oddly enough, with a not-so-irrelevant action sequence.
At an OSS meeting, something fishy is going on already. The President, whose daughter was rescued by Juni, is carrying some sort of technological wonder called the Transmooker device (nice name, what's it mean?). It is promptly stolen by the champagne waiters, who disappear by being magnetically sucked to a UFO. Juni is claimed responsible by Gary, the snobby son of the president of the OSS. Gary also has a relationship with Carmen.
Gary and his younger sister Gerti are sent on a mission to recover the Transmooker device, but Juni and Carmen beat them to it. When they get to the island, however, their gadgets do not work... Poor Carmen without her cell phone. Soon they find out about the genetic experiments of a scientist that roam the island, which are pretty big. Picture a lizard with a twenty-foot neck. Yep, they're big. The president of the OSS, however, soon wants the Transmooker device for himself, and things get complicated fast.
The casting could use a little change. Alan Cummings, although his role is tiny in this movie, should have been replaced by Jim Carrey, Jim Carrey played a (kinda) normal guy in Batman Forever, and as a scientist and entrepreneur he wasn't completely wacky. It would take some work, but Robin Williams could do the scientist. That might need a bigger budget, though, so scratch Robin Williams.
This movie doesn't feel so much like a Nickolodeon flick, though, which is an accomplishment. Still, if your child likes the show, they'll like this. Heck, your child will like this no matter what. Take 'em to it. ... Read more

Reviews (182)

Fantasy romp is a real pleasrure
I recently said that Hollywood may have forgotten how to make family movies. It seemed like an art lost in a sea of social changes. It is often said that children aren't as innocence as they used to be. If so, this is equally true of adults. Stories that entertained our grandparents are ones that many of us today find tame, trite and tedious. So, Spy Kids is a welcome surprise. It's fast, funny and innovative. By design, it's greatest appeal is to children, but most parents should enjoy it, too. It is like a Tim Burton movie [The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman, Sleepy Hollow] with all the dark overtones happily banished. It doesn't make any sense, but, like all great tall tales, it exists in its own space and time.

It took an odd pairing to create this movie. Its star, Antonio Banderas, gained fame as a very hot lover in movies in his native Spain. Director Robert Rodriguez started out in Mexico making movies that were stylish and creative but extremely violent. Until Spy Kids, his American movies were the same. I don't know what drew them to this project, but I'm glad they chose to do it.

Carmen and Juni [Alexa Varga and Daryl Sabara] are kids who live in a cool house overlooking the ocean. Their parents, Gregorio and Ingrid [Banderas and Carla Gugino] are loving but decidedly uncool as far as Carmen and Juni are concerned. Mom is overly protective, and Dad seems to be a wimp. They run a consulting business out of the house. What the kids don't know is that Mom and Dad used to be international spies. Currently, Gregorio and Ingrid are looking into the disappearance of some former coworkers. Juni is obsessed with a wacky children's show starring the bizarre Fegan Floop [Alan Cummin]. The boy, as well as the rest of the family, is about to learn that Floop and the disappearing spies are very much connected. When Gregorio and Ingrid also vanish, the kids set out to find them. It will prove to be the adventure of a lifetime.

The sets are colorful and imaginative. There are lots of cool gadgets - crayons that are actually lasers, neat cars that are also boats and submarines and so forth. Floop has a treasure trove of creatures he has created, including the robot children he plans to use to take over the world. My favorite characters are his bodyguards - pudgy, waddling things that are literally all thumbs.

Banderas is fun as Gregorio, playing a kind of a parody of himself. Varga and Sabara make the children likable. These aren't the cloyingly cute kids you see in most family films. They have personalities with flair and great senses of humor. Cummin plays Floop as a Pee Wee Herman gone completely mad. He's a great villain.

Spy Kids may be about kidnapping and espionage on one level, but it's also about the importance of family, not in the sense of so-called family values, but in the sense of love and loyalty. There will be a sequel in 2002, and, for once, I'm glad to hear it.

In my top 5 of 2001!
GENERAL: Spy Kids is truly a delight, not offensive at all and can be watched over and over again. This movie exceeded my expectations by so much that I bought it. One of the best films in a long time.
ACTING: Wow, Alex Vega and Daryl Sabara knocked me over with their pro performences. The bounce off each other perfectly, and really seem like siblings. The rest of the supporting(adult) cast is great too- 100% flawless.
PLOT: Original and gripping, this is the entertaining story of two children whos parents are captured- while on a spy mission, which the kids have no idea about. Now the kids(Carmen and Juni) have to save their parents and the world from a creative madman.
HUMOR: Wonderful, I laughed hundreds of times during this film and have done so all 10+ times I have seen the movie since.
SPECIAL EFFECTS: This movie has a brand of special effects all it's own, completely original and convincing. A breath of fresh after the doses of metallic Star Wars CGI.
MUSIC: The score, by the director, is beautiful and original. Completely perfect, something that I will never forget. Worth buying the soundtrack.
SPECIAL FEATURES: This is one of the most bare-bones DVDs I've ever seen, terrible for such a great movie! Unless of course all you want is (dun dun dun dun) a trailer!
CONCLUSION: A wonderul family/comedy/thriller, great for anyone and memorable. Spy Kids is definitely worth buying on DVD, if only for the lasting sound quality and picture clarity.
MY GRADE: A+

a great first!
this movie was real good!when i first saw the trailer i didint think it would be that good!but we were going to see a movie but the tickets were sold out,so we just decided to go see this!i was surprised of how good it was!this movie is awsome!

OK but Could Have Been Better
We rented Spy Kids and it was ok and had a couple of scenes that were amusing but I think it could have been better. It was okay to watch once but not a movie I could watch again and again. It just didn't live up to all of the hype it received when it was released to the theaters though it did have a great cast, Antonio Banderas, Alan Cumming, etc but the movie seemed like it was rushed and over edited and some scenes are a little choppy and also this seems like a movie that a child would find more appealing then a adult but that is just my opinion.

Don't Watch This Movie
I saw this movie when it first came out in theatres and was incredibly disappointed. I found this strange considering that, at that time, I was the film's target audience. There was so much room for a clever spoof of spies like James Bond, but the whole movie seemed like an insult to spy movies. The film struggles and fails to be funny. At the theatre where I saw it, no one laughed. I suppose the cheap special effects and awful plot are something to laugh at. But it just felt sad. ... Read more

Reviews (76)

Spy Kids 2, better that the 1st
As a teenager I usually don't have a thing for movies like this but I definetly liked this one. I ended up taking my little sister to see it but I ended up liking it more than her. Yes, some parts are cheesy (like when the little spy boy ballet dances with the presidents daughter), but there aren't that many moments like that. They also have 2 new characters. Gerti (who is played by Haley Joel Osments sister) is a cool gal and her brother Gary (Matt O'Leary) is gorgeous! I think that's why I liked the movie so much. He's a great actor and a major hottie! The movie itself is WAY better that the first too. The islands got some cool animals too, the "catfish" is cute but i found the "spider monkey" a little disturbing looking. If that thing was my pet I'd be a little scared! I don't want to give the movie away but DEFINETLY WATCH IT!

We¿ve Got A Franchise!!
"Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams" is another in a line of great sequels to great movies. Overall, if you enjoyed the first film you'll be very pleased in the next installment in this "Bond for Kids" comedy/adventure series!!

THE STORY:

Carmen and Juni Cortez (Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara) are back in a bigger and wilder adventure than before. This time the Cortez siblings are locked in a dead heat to get to the bottom of a mystery concealed by a remote and mysterious island before a rival team of Spy Kids beat them to the punch.

THE COOL THINGS:

The "Island of Lost Dreams" expands upon the Spy Kids world tenfold as we are introduced to the entire Spy Kids organization including its hierarchies and ultra-cool weapons. The "monsters" in this installment are also more formidable looking (mutated/spliced animals) as compared to the comical mutated humans from the first movie. We also get introduced to the extended Cortez family tree as Ingrid's parents gain a supporting role. In all, seeing the competing Spy Kids and the newer and cooler weapons made this movie more enjoyable.

BEST SCENES:

1. The Monster Duel

2. Popstars Carmen and Juni!!! (HILARIOUS!!!)

3. Battle at OSS

THE VERDICT:

Spy Kids was generally regarded as a good, solid movie not only for kids and families, but anyone in general. It was fun, entertaining and all around enjoyable. Summed in a nutshell, Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams is even better!!!

Highly Recommended

A PRETTY GOOD MOVIE!
IT WAS PRETTY GOOD!I LIKED THE FIRST ONE BETTER,BUT THIS ONE WAS REAL COOL TOO!THE ACTORS ARE REAL GOOD WHEN THE`RE PLAYING AS THESE PEOPLE!

Great Movie
I enjoyed Spy Kids 2 a lot. I have Spy Kids and it was alright. I watched 3-D in theatres and thought it was crappy. Today I watched Spy Kids 2 and I loved it it's a funny movie full of action. I highly recommend it.

Better than the original but much less like 007
Spy Kids was a lot like James Bond, only for kids. Sure, the gadgets were a little wacky, as was the plot, and the lines weren't super (they should have included some double entendres, that would have been a laugh), but it was good. This, however, shows the franchise is veering into fantasy. And from what I hear about Spy Kids 3D: Game Over, the James Bond similarity seems to be over. If you want James Bond, see Agent Cody Banks, XXX, or the real thing, Die Another Day.
Kids, however, will not make a Venn diagram between Bond and Spy Kids, primarily because they've never watched 007 ask for a vodka martini, shaken not stirred. This movie is heavy on stars ( Antonio Banderas, Ricardo Montalban) but it never feels like, say, Hook.
Two spies have no choice but to let their children, Carmen and Juni, become junior agents. The movie starts out, oddly enough, with a not-so-irrelevant action sequence.
At an OSS meeting, something fishy is going on already. The President, whose daughter was rescued by Juni, is carrying some sort of technological wonder called the Transmooker device (nice name, what's it mean?). It is promptly stolen by the champagne waiters, who disappear by being magnetically sucked to a UFO. Juni is claimed responsible by Gary, the snobby son of the president of the OSS. Gary also has a relationship with Carmen.
Gary and his younger sister Gerti are sent on a mission to recover the Transmooker device, but Juni and Carmen beat them to it. When they get to the island, however, their gadgets do not work... Poor Carmen without her cell phone. Soon they find out about the genetic experiments of a scientist that roam the island, which are pretty big. Picture a lizard with a twenty-foot neck. Yep, they're big. The president of the OSS, however, soon wants the Transmooker device for himself, and things get complicated fast.
The casting could use a little change. Alan Cummings, although his role is tiny in this movie, should have been replaced by Jim Carrey, Jim Carrey played a (kinda) normal guy in Batman Forever, and as a scientist and entrepreneur he wasn't completely wacky. It would take some work, but Robin Williams could do the scientist. That might need a bigger budget, though, so scratch Robin Williams.
This movie doesn't feel so much like a Nickolodeon flick, though, which is an accomplishment. Still, if your child likes the show, they'll like this. Heck, your child will like this no matter what. Take 'em to it. ... Read more

Reviews (127)

Way better then the 1st and 2nd!!!
Way better then the 1st and 2nd!!! Robert Rodriguez did a unbelieveable job as director and making this movie so us viewers can watch it in 3-D. Another thing that is so much like Rodriguez is that he keeps the same actors from the first film he ever made (Desperado) and sticks with them throughout his whole directing career. For example Antonio Banderas who has had two box office flops (FemmeFatale, Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever) since the Spy Kids films and George Clooney (Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn) who has had a great box office career (Ocean's 11) with the exception of Solaris which flopped really bad in 2002.
Also I admire Rodriguez for getting the struggling veteran actor as of late Sylvestor Stallone (Rocky, Rambo) back on the big screen. Who's last two films went direct to video, one a horror movie called Eye See You and the other a romantic wanna be gangster comedy called Avenging Angelo.

Anyway the BOTTOM LINE is: THIS MOVIE WAS GREAT ,STALLONE IS BACK, AND THE IDEA OF THE SPECIAL EFFECTS WAS THE MOST ORIGINAL THING SINCE THE 1ST MATRIX !!!

Very cool movie
Being a fan of the previous Spy Kids movies, I decided to see this one. And I don't regret seeing it at all. It's a very good movie, the best Spy Kids movie so far. It is definitely worth seeing (more than once!) This movie is on my list of recommmendations. It's really fun, doesn't get too boring like some movies do. If you have more than 4 family members, then you can order glasses on-line. People need to just get the DVDs since they come with the glasses. I mean, who doesn't have a DVD player? Getting a DVD is worth the few extra dollars, especially in this case. The DVD format comes with special features, and this one comes with lots of special features. The movie is good, you get a behind-the-scenes look at what it took to make the movie-it's a good buy.
About the movie:
Juni Cortez is called in by the OSS to go save his sister, Carmen, who is trapped in a video game. Juni goes inside the videogame, but will he be able to shut the video game down? Watch the movie for the exciting 3-D and to find out what happens. Even parents will like, Spy Kids movies, too!

KINDA GOOD
I DONT LIKE IT AS MUCH AS THE FIRST TWO,BUT IT`S PRETTY COOL BECAUSE IT`S IN 3 DIMENSIONS!

Spy Kids: Series Over
Even though it was targeted at my age group, it was awful. The 3-d effects are awful. I mean, the color is awful, and one of the people I was watching it with got sick from the glasses. It seams to be be parodying the matrix by having 'the guy,' it takes place in a cumputer room, one thing I found in common is the line 'there is no spoon,' the movie feels like 'there is no plot.' Acting is awful in this. When I first heard that it was shot in only a month in a half, I was impressed. After I saw it, I could not believe it took so long to shoot it.

Worth it for the commentary
This is a pretty cheesy movie, a poorly connected sequence of action scenes in CGI. On the other hand, some of those scenes outdo big-budget movies; I thought the outlandish street race in oversized video vehicles was better than the pod race in Star Wars I, and with a less annoying kid.

As bad as it is, it's all worth it to watch Rodriguez's commentary, to hear him discuss the process of making a 3D movie, the future of digital cinema, and how he saved money and made a mildly entertaining (and hugely financially successful) movie under strict time and budget constraints.

Some of my favorite parts of the commentary:

"We didn't have this animation done on time, so we just had the character complain how it looked like an old video game."

"I wasn't sure if people would get splitting headaches from the 3D, so I made the movie only 80 minutes. That way, if it was a problem, at least it would be over soon."

The funniest parts are slightly apologetic, but there's plenty more to learn from, and he's never at a loss for words. Unlike typical DVD commentary, there isn't any dead time while he thinks of some bit of trivia about what's on the screen. ... Read more

Reviews (94)

The Most Super of Superbit DVDs
This week I had an opportunity to take a look at the new Superbit DVDs from Columbia Tristar. Of all the Superbit DVDs we looked at the one which clearly delivered on the Superbit promise is Desperado Superbit with a version clearly superior to the initial release. From the first scene in the movie on, the picture is remarkably improved over the original version. To give you an example of how big the difference is, when Steve Buscemi's character walks into the bar, it looks like it is lit in a murky brown light, whereas in the Superbit version the bar is clearly and evenly lit by a dark red light. I was like, "Oh, so that's what it's supposed to look like!" I found myself comparing a good number of scenes in Desperado, and clearly across the board the Desperado Superbit looked better. The key scene I selected compare between the two versions in Desperado was the one where Carolina (played by Selma Hayek) sings a song on the bed of El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas). Some of the notable differences I could see:

• Skin tone! Wow! In the Superbit version there's a dramatic difference in skin tone, it looks a lot richer and is a much truer color.
• As the camera pans over to Selma's face you can see much more detail in her face and on her skin.
• The colors of El Mariachi's guns are much different and they glimmer in the Superbit version. In the original version they are a dull metallic color.

The DTS audio track is as dramatic a difference as the picture. Most noticeably is when El Mariachi jumps backward from the top of the building firing his pistols. In the DTS audio track you hear a thud as he lands, something I didn't hear in either the old or new Dolby Digital tracks. Of all the Superbit Titles, Desperado is the easiest to recommend as a 'replacement' DVD for someone who already owns the original version. The improvements in the Superbit version are significant enough to warrant a purchase and you don't give up anything going to Superbit, as the original release didn't have any special features. However, there was also a double feature release (yep, Superbit makes release #3), which had Desperado on one side and El Mariachi on the other, so that's a pretty huge special feature to give up (and the only way to own El Mariachi on DVD).

[Geoffrey Kleinman, DVDTalk.com]

"El Mariachi" with a budget
As far as revenge flicks go, this one plays by all the rules....and still delivers the goods. The main draw of this film is (and ought to be) the promise of some amazing action scenes. With Robert Rodriguez directing, you know you'll get what you paid for. Revenge flicks also need an angry lone hero out to get anybody for a past wrong. And here we have Antonio Banderas in (what I consider to be) his breakout role. His is really the only character that has the amount of depth usually reserved for more weighty films. But then again, we're talking about a Robert Rodriguez movie. And Banderas is a damn fine actor. He is perfectly cast as the nameless "Mariachi." Salma Hayek is lookin' good as the love interest, but aside from being Salma Hayek (something no man can quibble over), she isn't given much to work with. Still, there is a hilarious throwaway role filled past the brim by the inestimable Steve Buscemi; Cheech Marin appears as "the Bartender." Quentin Tarantino even pops up to tell an obscene joke (can you imagine?). The one debit this film has going against it, besides the one-dimensional -- though highly entertaining -- characters, is the fact that the huge climactic gunfight at the ranch never is shown! (If you've seen the film, you know what I'm talking about.)

I suppose I should summarize.... "Desperado" rocks. Plain and simple, if you're looking for an above-average action thriller with lots of goofy humor, this is the way to do it. And if you're really ambitious, I highly recommend seeing "Desperado" and "El Mariachi," Rodriguez's original feature debut, in one sitting and comparing the two films. "El Mariachi" is much better, but since it was filmed on a shoestring budget, it doesn't feature some of the more mind-blowing fight sequences you can find in "Desperado." It's up to you to decide which is better, but for sure, "Desperado" is one of my top picks for a guilty pleasure. 4 of 5 stars.

West Side Story...South of the Border
OK, may be the plot isn't relative and the weaponry a little more state-of-the-art, but the choreography.....better!

This violent, shoot-um-up-to-the-max was definitely 'death dancing to it's own rhythm'.

I viewed the Superbit DVD, but never having watched either of the previous two DVDs nor the video, I can't make any comparison. I can say the DTS was awesome. The picture quality was excellent. It doesn't get any better than this, especially since the tiny shrinking cinemaplex theaters have made my surround-sound and 32" TV the theater of choice.

Sex and guns and music from Los Lobos interwoven with campy humor, Antonio being...well Antonio (ladies, need I say more), with great support from the likes of Steve Buscemi (in one of his best roles I think), Cheech Marin, and the sultry Salma Hayek; what more could you want in an action movie. I found this film far superior to and much more enjoyable than 'Dawn To Dusk'.

Now that 'Desperado II - Once Upon A Time in Mexico'is in the works for a 2003 release with the return of Antonio and Salma and the addition of Johnny Depp and Enrique Iglesias, once again under the direction of Robert Rodriguez, we can look foward to finding out just where the loving couple rode off to into the sunset.

Seems I repeatedly say these two things:

I am not your run-of-the mill young western fan - wrong gender, wrong age, but I enjoyed it anyway;

and also reminding those who picked-at the flaws, degraded and jeered at the plot (?), questioned the reality, and just plain didn't get the campiness, to just let yourself go!

Don't take yourself and the movies so seriously. Enjoy the humor. Enjoy Antonio or Salma, whichever one sets your pulse-to-racing. Heck, just enjoy the movie!

It Was Good, But ...
I was disappointed with the ending. Of course, I loved the twist, but the conclusion to the twist wasn't what I was hoping for. But hey, if you enjoy "out on a vendetta" movies as much as I do, you'll enjoy the ride.

A GREAT ACTION FILM FOR THE AGES!
I am a big fan of the "action" genre and the whole Mariachi Trilogy tops my list.Especially with Desperado my favorite.I showed this film to my friend and they were extreamly impressed.Some people say that this movie's no good because it's too too unreal.This movie wasn't meant to be real it was meant to be fun.Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek really give this movie a "spice" to the screen.Desperado is filled with bullet-flying action,humor,and a romance.Those who've seen this movie will know what I'm talking about.If you're not into actio movies,or violent movies than Desperado is defenetley not for you.For those who are into action movies and haven't seen this movie yet,SEE IT NOW!I gaurentee you won't be disappointed. ... Read more